Florida Leopard Frog
As a child, during the Spring and Summer, I enjoyed listening to the frogs’ nightly chorus. Creating a natural habitat for frogs and toads is one of the most rewarding landscaping projects you can undertake. These curmudgeonly but helpful amphibians feed on many common garden pests, such as ants, beetles, flies, mosquitoes, slugs, and other small invertebrates. By encouraging frogs and toads to visit your yard, you'll help maintain a natural balance and reduce pests without using chemicals.
Florida native Fowler’s Toad, US Fish & Wildlife Services
Florida’s Native Frogs and Toads.
While butterflies enjoy “puddle stations, you can encourage frogs and toads to visit by building a “frog log” or a “toad abode” by creating shady nooks and moist crannies with rocks, sticks, logs, or upside-down broken pots with adequately sized openings, for shelter out of the sun and hiding places from predators. Let leaf litter from canopy trees fill in as mulch. Add native hydric or rain garden plants such as bog buttons, ferns, grasses, and mosses to complete your wetland habitat.
Including a low water feature in your toad habitat helps amphibians regulate their temperature, giving them a place to cool down. Garden saucers, salvage pottery, China plates, or bowls, placed level with the ground are all good choices. If the water depth exceeds six inches, be sure to add a stick, spoon, or ladder-like object so amphibians can easily climb out. Placing your water feature in an area that is irrigated will ensure that it has water in it frequently.
One of the most crucial recommendations for maintaining any wildlife habitat is to refrain from using pesticides and herbicides near the exterior of your residence. Applying pesticides can reduce available food sources for amphibians. Herbicide use will kill the plants that will shade and protect them.
Now, at night whenever I step outside after dark, I can hear their music, it’s serene and comforting, taking me back to my childhood. Welcome amphibians to your landscape to balance nature’s way, it’s one of the joys of Spring and Summer.
Check out these two DIY “toad abode” projects, courtesy of Pinterest and Homeandgarden.com.
Credit: Homeandgarden.com